Letter raises question of witness in Phylicia Barnes case

Michael Johnson's lawyers to use letter to ask for new trial

Attorneys presented their closing arguments Monday in the trial of Michael Johnson.

Letter raises question of witness in Phylicia Barnes case

Michael Johnson's lawyers to use letter to ask for new trial

Updated: 6:42 AM EST Mar 5, 2013

Share

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

BALTIMORE —

There was a new challenge to the credibility of a key witness in the Phylicia Barnes murder case, and lawyers for Michael Johnson, the man convicted in the case, are using it to fuel their argument for a new trial.

Advertisement

The circumstances surround James McCray, the inmate who was the only witness in the case to say Johnson confessed to the crime, showed him Barnes' body and asked for help to get rid it.

McCray testified the Barnes case wasn't the only court case in which he had testified. He mentioned two other cases in addition to the one against Johnson; one in Virginia, the other in Montgomery County.

Prosecutors used that testimony to bolster McCray's credibility, suggesting his word had been used before to convict criminals, I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said. But a letter arrived a day after the verdict against Johnson in which the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office said McCray, who was also known as James Lee, did not testify.

The letter said, "An attorney in our office read about the case and noticed that a witness in your case, James Lee, may also be a person he interviewed concerning a case that he prosecuted. He ended up not calling the witness."

The letter was sent to prosecutors in Baltimore. It also included notes from a detective in Montgomery County saying McCray had been found to be not credible.

Baltimore prosecutors said they investigated that and found it was inaccurate.

All of this will be hashed out in a couple of weeks when Johnson is to be sentenced, provided a judge doesn't grant a new trial first, Miller reported.